Download Glossary of useful terms

43.386, History of College
Prof. Carlsmith
Glossary of Terms for History of Universities and Colleges
(rev. 9/21/2010)
N.B. This list is intended to be a work-in-progress. Students are encouraged to bring
terms to class so that they can be defined, discussed, and (if appropriate) added to
our list. Part of this list is adapted from Hunt Janin, The University in Medieval Life
(London: McFarland and Co., 2008), pp. 197-98.
Baccalarius artium -
Bachelor’s degree (BA)
Beadle -
a minor official who keeps order inside the university; an
usher or doorkeeper
Benefice-
a church position or salary for a cleric
Bursar -
official in charge of funds at a college or university; the
treasurer
Chantry -
an endowment to cover expenses for masses or prayers
College -
institution of higher learning that grants the B.A.(e.g.
Dartmouth College); a school or division within a
university (e.g., College of Engineering); a self-governing
society of scholars (e.g., College of Physicians);
independent endowed residences that offer tutoring and
fellowship to university students (e.g., Collegio Borromeo)
Disputations-
Oral debates held weekly, following Aristotle’s rules of
logic
Eleemosynary -
relating to charity or alms-giving
Extraordinary lectures- Lectures given in the afternoon on less essential topics
Goliardic-
referring to student entertainment or activities, often w/
alcohol
Gloss -
additional commentary upon a text, often in the margin or
even between the lines of the original text
Humanism-
a philosophy beginning in the Renaissance that
championed belief in people’s rationalism and dignity; that
advocated Greco-Roman ideals, Ciceronian Latin, and a
return to the sources (ad fontes) for both secular and
Biblical scholarship; that called for active involvement in
public life rather than the contemplative, monastic ideal of
the Middle Ages.
In utroque iure -
“in both kinds of law” (civil and canon)
Legists -
students or professors studying law (ius)
Licentia docendi -
“license to teach” anywhere in Christendom (= M.A.)
Magister artium -
Master of Arts (M.A.)
Natio -
a group of students from a defined region (e.g., Scotland,
Lombardy) who spoke the same language and who had
often had special privileges
Ordinary lectures -
Lectures delivered by a university professor in the
morning
Peregrinatio academica- “academic pilgrimage” when students traveled long
distances to their universities
Prelate -
a high-ranking member of the clergy (e.g., bishop, abbot)
Puncta -
“points”, usually topics or passages from a text upon which
a student would be examined or a professor might lecture
Quadrivium -
the four advanced liberal arts: music, astronomy,
geometry, arithmetic
Scholasticism -
A system of thought, often based on Aristotelian logic, used
extensively in medieval university education.
Studia humanitates -
the humanities, or humane studies;
Studium Generale (or studium) -
a medieval university
Trivium -
the first three subject of the liberal arts: grammar,
rhetoric, dialectic
Vespers -
ecclesiastical services held in late afternoon or early
evening